General army staff’s call for Pashinyan’s resignation 'scared Turkey out of wits' – expert

The call by the top military brass for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation came as a real shock to Turkey, which now increasingly fears lest Armenia should have any chances at all to restore its impaired dignity after a crucial defeat, says Ruben Melkonyan, an expert in Turkish studies.   

“Certain circles in Armenia – and the Turkish and Azerbaijani elites – share the same opinion on the statement by the officers’ corps. Turkey, as the foe of the Armenians, cannot possibly have pro-Armenian concerns,” he told a news conference on Friday.

The expert also highlighted the government team’s “enemy-friendly” conduct over the past period, which saw strategically important institutions “heavily targeted” by different officials. “A war is practically going on within the state among different government institutions, with [the statement by] the General Headquarters [of the Armed Forces] followed by the Office of the Human Rights Defender,” he said, appreciating the Ombudsman’s active role in raising the problem of Turkish-Azerbaijani genocidal actions during the war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).